Benfica: FC Porto end 55-match unbeaten run

20.09.26 FT Primeira Liga Portugal

FC Porto

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Benfica

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Benfica will not reach a 56th consecutive match without defeat in Liga Portugal. Beaten 3-1 by FC Porto at the Dragão on Sunday evening, the Lisbon club saw its run of 55 league matches without defeat come to an end, one short of its all-time record.

Benfica had begun this run on January 25, 2025, after a 3-1 defeat to Casa Pia on the 19th matchday of the 2024-2025 season. That day, the Lisbon side had nevertheless opened the scoring through Ángel Di María, before conceding to Cassiano, Nuno Moreira and Gaëtan Livolant.

From that match onward, Benfica went on to play 55 Liga Portugal matches without defeat, recording 40 wins and 15 draws, with 136 goals scored and 43 conceded. The run spanned three seasons and involved three coaches. Bruno Lage managed the final 15 matchdays of 2024-2025, followed by the first four matches of the following season. José Mourinho then took charge of the next 30 matches, before Marco Silva led the team during the first six matchdays of the 2026-2027 campaign.

Benfica remain one match short of their record

Benfica will therefore not be able to equal their best-ever total this season. The club record remains 56 consecutive league matches without defeat, a run achieved between 1976-1977 and 1978-1979 under John Mortimore. It ended on September 1, 1978, precisely away to FC Porto, who were then playing at the Antas, in a 1-0 defeat.

The scenario was repeated nearly 48 years later: Benfica needed just one match without defeat to equal their historic mark, but lost at the Dragão in the 55th match of the run.

The record in the Portuguese league, meanwhile, belongs to FC Porto. The club coached by Sérgio Conceição went 58 league matches without defeat between 2020-2021 and 2021-2022. Benfica therefore ended their run three matches short of that national record.

With Sunday’s 3-1 defeat, FC Porto thus denied Benfica the chance to equal their own record of 56 matches and ended one of the longest unbeaten runs recently achieved in the Portuguese league.

Nouya M'toama

Editorfr, en

Versatile journalist specializing in sports and political news, with extensive experience across radio, print and digital media platforms.

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